Ferrari had hoped that they would be able to move ahead of McLaren Mercedes and claim third position in the championship in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi finale. However, despite the best efforts of departing drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella, the team were unable to score and therefore finish the season fourth in the standings.
“It’s disappointing to see third place in the constructors’ championship elude us by a single point, but we have to accept the verdict dished out on track,” said team principal Stefano Domenicali. “We took a strategic decision regarding the development of the F60 a few months ago and we knew that, as time went by, the road ahead would get ever steeper. All the same, I wish to congratulate the entire team who, despite the difficult situation, continued to keep their concentration up, getting on with their work with determination and tenacity.
“Now we must continue to work on the design of the new car, because we have a very simple aim: that of getting back to being in the fight for race wins. This was Kimi’s last race with us and again he gave it his all. We are very disappointed that this year, we did not give him a competitive car and I thank him for never having thrown in the towel, in fact, fighting even harder when the situation was at its trickiest.”
McLaren were naturally happy to beat their arch rivals to the third position, despite a generally disappointing race that saw Lewis Hamilton lead early on before retiring with a brake problem. Heikki Kovalainen recovered well from a gearbox change grid penalty to finish ahead of Raikkonen, albeit still out of the points.
“The fact that we beat Ferrari to third place is of course a matter of pride to us, and I want to pay tribute to all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for the superhuman efforts they all made in achieving that milestone,” stated team principal Martin Whitmarsh. “Ferrari are always formidable opponents for us, and next year we hope to beat them again – this time for first place rather than third.”
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Well said FORZA: Clash of the Titans.....Hamilton v Alonso - can't wait (both have publically reported the respect they have for each other's driving ability!)
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Even though I didn't appreciate Alonso's past behaviour whilst at McLaren, he is emphatically a great driver. Though I am definately NOT a Ferrari Fan, I suspect they will be strong next year, with a good package and strong driver line-up. Whether it works internally, remains to be seen, but the fact that they totally gave up mid season to focus on next year's car is a telling sign.
Ferrari has been playing a waiting game. Waiting for what I don't know. If Ferrari is waiting for Fernando Alonzo to bring back the glory, they may have miscalculated. Ferrari may think Alonzo can be another Michael Schumacher. He's good but not that good. Ferrari has been a real disappoontment to me.
Neutral Observer Ferrari stopped developing their cars long time ago. They lost top driver P. Massa, could not find a half decent replacement for him--could only depend on one driver for team points. Mclaren not handicapped by loss of a top driver----they continued developing and improving their cars right up to the final race of the season(in contrast to Ferrari who did the smart thing,----get going PRONTO and develop the 2010 cars,--FORGET 2009!!) End of season result, Mclaren---71points, Ferrari---70 points. WOW!! Mclaren WINS BY 1POINT!!. What does this tell you????
Regarding Ferrari , they started with an Very uncompetitive car and did not upgrade until half way. Then stopped all together! That Is management and engineering. Luca and Dominic look like little girls for blaming that on Kimi. Ferrari lost my respect. Don't want to drive a car made by back stabling company that fails to step up and uses a driver as scapegoat. Brawn and Red Bull Had the Cars Ferrari should have been right up w/ them but just completely Failed.
Next year the fastest most reliable cars will dominate as long as they have top notch drivers and crews the make sound decisions.SV JB KR LH all top notch. Ferrari made another Loosing decision. Hope Kimi races for Mclaren in 2010 and causes problems for F. I also agree with Marie.
Ferrari got what they deserved for 2009. Luca's word is not be trusted - written contracts can be nulled. Santander bought the Ferrari seat for Fernando with big expectations to gain another world championship. I will bet my husband's balls that it will be Massa who will beat Fernando and that the biggest winner in this will be Santander with good marketing exposure in the new relationship. The raw driving talent is now moving back to McLaren. Renault combined with Michelin and that time engineering talent were the biggest reason Fernando won the double championship.
Enjoy it while you can, fellows.... Ferrari will be back stronger than ever, you can count on that. I hope that the same holds true for McLaren as well. I'd love to see an Alonso-Hamilton fight for the title, regardless of who wins.
They will miss Kimi more than they realise. Fernando doesn't work and play well with others.
:)
Just listen to yourselves
That's what you get for giving up halfway through the season.
Bet ferrari have lost a fortune on unsold 2009 merchandise. was quite funny at silverstone this year, long lines of people waitting at the Brawn and mclaren stands, with the Ferrari ones empty. Such is the fickle nature of your typical ferrari fan, crowing the loudest when then are winning but nowhere to be be seen when not
Hopefully next season Ferrari will have a even worse season than they did this year. LMFAO. Then we can all watch tourtotheshitehouse come out with more sh ite about why they are doing so badly and he can blame every other team for stealing their ideas.
HarleyRENTBoy - Are you disappointed? - better luck next time mate!
I Hope nothing changes for next year. This year has been one of the most entertaining. The long runs of Ferrari and McClaren at the top made it slightly predictable, where as this year having many different winners was more enjoyable. I can see both ferrari and McClaren pulling their socks up but next year i would say there are a further 2 or 3 teams going to be battling things out.
Lets hope Jean Ferrari isn't too biased next year. Things look good so far, did anyone else see him blanking Stephano and Luca??
hahahhahaahaaaaaa......McLAREN take 3rd.......ferrari 4th.
How can it be "disappointing" when they (as well as) sabotaged their drivers since March? Disappointing because McLaren didn't stop working on its car? Balderdash! After season 09 Ferrari is itself a total disappointment.
no big deal really, just go get em next year. 3rd or 4th, doesn't really matter. both are losers. there is only one winner.
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